Chapter 20
RHETT
I’m about to go after Evie, when Carter grabs hold of my arm, holding me back.
“Let her go,” he says with anger written all over his face.
Logan is standing at the bottom of the stairs, with a look of disappointment.
I open my mouth but swallow my protest when Carter’s look turns dark.
“You were out of line, Rhett. Give Evie time. I think you’ve done enough damage for one night.”
I yank my arm out of Carter’s hold and turn to face him.
“Stay out of this,” I hiss.
“Rhett, you need to calm down,” Logan says as he comes to stand next to Carter.
Seeing my best friends upset with me brings it home.
What have I done?
The thought sweeps through me like a storm, pissing on the fire that was feeding my rage.
How could I say those things to Evie? What the fuck came over me?
Her perky nipples, that’s what.
Seeing her dressed like that unleashed something far worse than the perverted monster that’s been living inside of me. This was possessive and dominant.
It made me see red, knowing my friends could see every sexy part of her body I was seeing. Her toned legs, and those boots… fuck those boots. Her slim neck and slender shoulders. Her smokey eyes and red lips. I wanted to bite those lips until they were naturally red and swollen.
She looked like sex in boots, and the domineering jerk inside of me was roaring with jealousy.
Logan reaches out and gives my shoulder a comforting squeeze, but his words are the opposite.
“You called Evie a whore.” Logan being upset is a huge deal. It takes a lot to ruffle his feathers and right now he’s far from happy with me. “That girl ate out of dumpsters to avoid selling herself for food. Honestly, I don’t think you can repair the damage you’ve done.”
Hearing the hard truth from Logan makes my body shudder with dread. Have I fucked up things between Evie and I and ruined our friendship?
Knowing that Carter and Logan are right, I walk back into the house. I only make it to the living room when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I take it out and unlock the screen.
I’m confused when I see a message from Evie.
Evie: I’ve paid everything I’ve managed to save over the last few months to your bank account. It’s all I have right now. I’ll repay the rest of what I owe you as quick as I can.
It feels as if the ground gives way beneath my feet as I read the message again and again.
She’s going to run!
The thought has my body moving so fast, and I’m out the front door before Carter or Logan can stop me. I have to make things right before I lose her.
That’s if you haven’t lost her already, dumbass!
I jump in my car and make it to Evie’s place in record time. I run up to her apartment and knock on the door.
When she doesn’t open, I start to panic. She couldn’t have packed everything so fast? It’s only been twenty minutes since I last saw her.
Pulling my keys from my pocket, I look for the spare key to her apartment. I never thought I’d have to use it. I only kept it in case she locked herself out.
It’s another dick move on my part, intruding on her privacy, but I have to see her.
I let myself in, shutting the door behind me before I walk to Evie’s room.
The sweater, shorts, and boots are lying in a heap in the middle of her room. Hearing water running, I walk to the bathroom, and when I see Evie, relief floods me.
I’m in time. Thank God.
Evie is splashing water on her face. She grabs a towel, and as she dries her face, she starts to walk towards me.
“Hey,” I say so she won’t bump into me.
She lets out a piercing shriek, throws the towel at me, and stumbles back. Her face pales from the fright, and she loses her balance. I rush forward, but I’m too late. I watch with horror how Evie’s butt slams into the floor. The back of her head collides with the bath, the sound sickening and scary.
I drop to my knees beside Evie. She groans as she reaches for the back of her head.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I slide my hand behind her neck, and pulling her forward, I check to see if there’s blood. With her hair still piled up on her head, it makes the task easier. Luckily there’s no blood, only a goose egg that’s already forming.
Positioning one arm behind her back, and another under her knees, I lift her to my chest as I climb to my feet.
She weighs next to nothing as I carry her to the bed. Once I’ve set her down, I rush to the kitchen to grab a bag of frozen vegetables from her freezer. When I get back to her bedroom, I sit down beside her and gently press the frozen bag to the back of her head.
She takes it from me and moves away, putting plenty of space between us.
“What are you doing here?” she says softly, sounding worn out.
I know it won’t be easy to fix what I’ve broken, but I’m determined to try.
“I came to apologize,” I say, turning my body to face her.
I wish I could take her hand, but her whole body is closed off, and her walls are back up.
She doesn’t say anything as she stares at the floor.
Needing her to look at me, I hook a finger under her chin and turn her face to me. I see red blemishes around her eyes, and it’s evidence of just how much I hurt her.
“I was a dick, Evie.”
She pulls her face away from my hand. “Can we talk tomorrow? I want to be alone right now.”
Her words are a punch to my gut. Evie’s biggest fear is being alone, and she’d rather face that than have me here.
She drops the frozen bag on the floor, and when she gets up and walks over to her closet, it sinks in that she’s only wearing boyshorts and a flimsy tank top. The bastard in me would take advantage of this moment, and stare my full. Her ass and tits have given me many wet dreams over the past few months.
But not tonight. My eyes are drawn to Evie’s face, washed clean of makeup. The evidence of her tears makes me feel guilt-ridden as fuck.
I’ve kept my distance from Evie because she’s so innocent and I didn’t want to corrupt her with my depravity. How she managed to remain pure with the past she’s had to deal with, goes beyond my understanding.
Evie is as decent as they come, and I called her a whore.
I wait while she drags on a pair of sweats and t-shirt. When she’s done, she lets out a tired sigh as she finally lifts her eyes to mine.
“Say what you have to say so you can go, Rhett.”
I would’ve been able to handle her anger, but the hollowness in her voice guts me even further.
She just wants me gone.
I stand up and take a deep breath, needing to make her understand that I didn’t mean it.
“You looked beautiful tonight. I lost my shit because of it. I didn’t want any of the guys seeing you like that, because I knew they would see what I’ve known all along. You’re drop-dead gorgeous inside and out. I was scared one of them would do what I was too chicken shit to do.”
Well, I wasn’t planning on laying my heart out in front of her, but now that I’ve said it, there’s no taking it back.
She just stares at me, and it’s making my stomach tighten with nerves.
Please don’t tell me to fuck off.
I send up the silent prayer as I wait for her to say something.
When she looks down at her feet and tucks some of the curls behind her ear, my body tenses as I wait for her to tell me she’ll never forgive me.
“The day I went to live with Eric and Charlotte, I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. I finally had a family who wanted me. I had a home where I could be a part of something bigger than myself.”
It’s not what I expected to hear, and it takes my mind a moment to play catch-up.
“It only took me a few days to realize nothing was as it seemed. The kids didn’t laugh, and everyone would tense up whenever Eric or Charlotte walked into a room. At first, I was on kitchen duty, but a few months later one of the older girls left, and I took over doing the laundry.”
I’m not sure where Evie is going with this story, but I listen greedily because it’s about her past. It’s something new I’m getting to learn about her.
“Some of the loads were the usual stuff, clothes I saw everyone wear daily. But there were loads filled with lingerie and some –”
She takes a deep breath and wraps her arms around her. She shrugs as she glances up at me, an unsettled look in her eyes.
My heart starts to beat faster, and my gut tightens. This isn’t just a memory Evie’s sharing with me. Something happened, and I made it worse.
She clears her throat and drops her eyes to my chest. “There was blood on the clothes. Charlotte brought the soiled loads and took the clean ones, and I knew better than to ask her where the blood came from. I suppose I was trying to protect myself from whatever was happening. If I didn’t know the truth, it couldn’t hurt me. Just before I turned eighteen, Eric and Charlotte sat me down. I was told that I would start working at the ranch on my birthday.”
My breaths come faster, and when she takes too long to continue, I rasp, “What happens at the ranch?”
“You become a sex worker.”
I close my eyes wishing I could take back what I said to Evie.
“That’s why I ran,” she whispers. “I couldn’t imagine anything worse than being forced to have sex with multiple men every night.”
I take a step towards her, but catch myself in time. I’m not sure she wants me touching her right now.
“I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t mean it. I was jealous,” I say urgently, praying she’ll believe me.
Her eyes find mine, and she pins me with a determined look.
“I’m not a whore, Rhett. I’ve never sold my body for sex. I might have cleaned houses topless, but the worst that makes me is a stripper. There’s a huge difference. I never performed a sexual act for money. I never will. I don’t care if men stare at me. Their eyes can’t hurt me.”
I open my mouth, but she quickly holds her hand up to silence me.
“I feel violated. You think by throwing money my way I’m your property. I’m not. I never will be. I’m not a whore, Rhett. I’m definitely not your whore.”
“I never said you were my whore,” I say lamely.
“You treated me like one,” she whispers, but she might as well be screaming the words at me. “You’ve done it twice now. I’m grateful that you stepped in to help me when I had no one, but it doesn’t mean that I have no self-respect. It doesn’t mean that you can disrespect me. I might have been eating out of dumpsters,” her voice breaks and a tear sneaks down her face, “but I’m not trash.”
When her face crumbles, I can’t just stand and watch her anymore. I shoot forward, and before she can move away, I wrap my arms around her. I hold her tightly as she breaks down. I want to kiss her pain away but instead I over her the comfort of my chest.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Evie,” I whisper into her hair. “I never meant to make you feel like that.”
Now that I know more about Evie’s past it makes my protective side grow into something dark.
I’ve always been protective of Mia, but I’ve never felt anything like this before. Knowing that Logan would take care of Mia whenever I couldn’t, gave me peace of mind.
Evie only has me. She’s been hurt, scared, and abandoned. The need in me to shield her from whatever life will still throw her way, becomes a living, breathing force.
I press a kiss to the top of her head, then bringing my hands to her face, I frame her cheeks. Leaning down, I catch her eyes.
“Since I’ve met you, all I’ve wanted to do was protect you. Tonight, I was a dick, and I hurt you. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. I love you, Evie. I fucking love you. There’s so much good in you that it makes me feel half decent whenever I’m around you. I have my fucked-up issues, and they got out of control tonight. It won’t happen again.”
The hurt doesn’t disappear from her eyes, and honestly, I didn’t expect it to. But when she nods, I feel the tight hold on my gut loosen a bit.